Also, I think the "reactive shield" used by the peregin may be a different kind of thing from the simple "attack blocking" shields used by the Patriarch's guards, the elf army fighting Ianilis, and the PC's in the game. The "reactive shield" was totally invisible, while the Patriarch and Elf shields seem to show up visibly at least a little bit (just as Jargalan's did in my description, though he doesn't keep it at full power all the time, and doesn't use it at all when he's "undercover").

The "reactive shield" actually managed to stun Sara, not just bounce her attacks off, and it didn't stop Jon and the armored guy from walking around close to the peregin. So maybe it's actually a socially acceptable kind of advanced defense...a little like the personal "shields" in Dune...where they don't block anything moving slowly, but sudden moves, like attacks, turn them on. (Remember how knife fighters in Dune developed "shield conditioning" - where they were used to striking slowly so the shields wouldn't block them? I've forgotten nearly everything out of that book but not that.)

(Edited other post to note that the reactive shield was presumably being maintained all the time - the peregin didn't know Sara was coming - implying that that kind of shield, at least, is easy to maintain.)